


how close is home?

by thisismyastralprojection



Series: how far can i fall? [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kinda, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Running Away, azula runs away from home, but not really, just the start though so yay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 00:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30080496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisismyastralprojection/pseuds/thisismyastralprojection
Summary: Azula finally runs away from Ozai's house, joining her brother and Iroh at the Jasmine Dragon.
Relationships: Azula & Ozai (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: how far can i fall? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213172
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	how close is home?

**Author's Note:**

> notes before you begin! I actually wrote this a long time ago, so while it's not my best work, it's an important piece of this series.
> 
> Thank you to @AnActualFrog for beta-ing a while ago.

Midnight. 

_God, am I really doing this?_ Azula’s hands are shaking as she heads to her room. She’s running away. For real this time. She’s already made a list of what she needs: her bag, her journal, and her jacket. It’s so little, yet she knows that she can’t take anymore with her, her father would notice if she took anything else.

Her father . . . 

She can still remember the screaming, Zuko’s tears. She can still remember sitting in her room, terrified of her father, but refusing to admit it. She can remember talking back, one time, when he refused to let her win a _stupid game of chess_ and feeling the terror that squeezed her chest, and how her breathing constricted, and that _oh she was going to end up like Zuko, her father would burn her, she’d never gain his favour again_ -

Azula’s had enough. 

She walks downstairs on silent sock feet, avoiding the creaky step. She’s glad that Ozai doesn’t wake up for another five hours or so, but even though she’s the only one awake in the house, there are precautions she has to take. When she reaches the bottom step, she grabs her school bag, tucks her journal in and slowly zips it up. She grabs her jacket, putting it on before walking out the door.

When Azula steps out on the front porch, her heart is pounding and she so desperately wants to run back inside, climb back into her bed and sleep. But she can’t, she’s already made her decision. She reaches into her pocket for her keys, locking the front door, and she’s about to put it back into her pocket, but-

Azula won’t need the keys anymore. 

She drops them right there on the doormat, then walks off her father’s property. Fear churns in her stomach, mixing with panic and anger. She starts running, before it hits her. She has absolutely nowhere to go. 

Her vision is blurring, and Azula can’t see, she can’t breathe again, and tears are pouring down her cheeks. She gasps for air, sobs wracking her entire body. _Where can she go?_ She’s beginning to think, now, _this was all a mistake, I’m so stupid, I should have never left, there’s nowhere left for me now_.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, it starts raining.

Icy sheets of rain fall from the sky. Sure, it's summer, but the rain is freezing, it soaks down to Azula’s bones, and within seconds, her jacket has become useless. Her fingers curl into fists, trying to find that bit of warmth that’s always there. But she can’t, not when everything stable for her has unraveled and broken down within half an hour.

Azula wishes she could scream. Scream it all away, until the breath comes back to her and everything feels _right_ again. Until Zuko comes home, and her hair grows back right, until that _stupid fucking mirror_ un-breaks. But that’s not how it works. 

There’s one place for her, she knows it. But is Azula still welcome? She knows what she said to Zuko was unforgivable, and her fingers clench at the thought. 

She can try, though.

Azula pulls her hood over her messy bangs, unsuccessfully dries her face with her fingers and exhales. She’ll go to the Jasmine Dragon then. At least it’s warm. And dry, hopefully.

She’s reached the doorstep of her uncle’s shop before she can truly think through her decision. Her hand rests on the door handle, and she’s about to open the door when she realizes that this will be the first time Azula’s seen her brother since Iroh had started the custody battle for him years ago. Now Azula wishes she had gone with. 

She lets go of the door handle. _I’m not good enough, he’ll never take me in, not after what I said, what I did._ She turns away, and is about to walk off the steps when she hears the door open.

“Azula?” 

Azula hears her name in a soft tone for the first time since she can remember. She turns towards Iroh’s blurry silhouette in the doorway.

“Come in, you must be freezing.”

It only takes a few words of concern for the tears to come back. Azula walks towards the open door and into the shop.

For the first time in years, she’s home.

**Author's Note:**

> :)


End file.
